01 or 03?

[Dan M]

Hi all,

 

New to the board. I've been lusting for a Guzzi for years. Been riding for 30 years and am currently on a BMW R1150RT plus a couple of old british bikes.

 

I've come across a new '03 V11Naked for $9500. Have also found a clean '01 V11Sport w/5000 miles and some mods (exhaust ect.) that I could probably get for $6500-$7000. I havn't researched these prices yet and just started looking seriously.

 

My question to the collected wisdom here is, how much difference from an '01 to an '03? Are the new models much improved?

 

Thanks in advance for any input.

 

Dan

[DeBenGuzzi]

I say get the Red frame and the mods. less to do and they are very similar. 5000mi is nothing. I got mine with 3800 and have put on 5k easy they say break in takes a good 10k

[jrt]

There's pros and cons to either machine, but they are really similar. I own an '01, so that's my bias.

Advantage '01- silver engine (vanity), cheaper, essentially same motor, exhaust mods come with that bike, shorter wheelbase and therefore quicker steering

Advantage '03- black-painted engine (if you're crazy enough to like that kind of thing), some improvements in the motor like oil jets under the piston (how much difference does that really make?), longer wheelbase so more high speed stability. Rear wheel may be wider (?), but I don't know if it's a standard size.

brakes- same

electrics- same

shocks- same (unless ohlins)

instruments- different (but may not be any better)

 

This is just off the top of my head- others will have lots more to say.

Just a thought- ride both. Buy the one that really pulls at your heart, and you'll be happy.

 

Good luck,

Jason

[staedtler]

thumbsup: ahh...you have much to learn grasshopper...

 

 

everybody knows the 03 model is twice as fast as the 01,....specially if it is the

sport model and has the green tank

[DeBenGuzzi]

yeah I heard the Green adds 10mph, but the Silver engine Adds 10 ftlbs of torq so its a toss up <_>

[al_roethlisberger]

This will mostly be a matter of personal preference when it comes down to it. If you can get a good look at an 00-01 series bike, an 02, and a true(see below) 03+ bike... that may make up your mind for you.

 

The 03+ bikes have some changes that I think are "significant", and would be nigh impossible to retrofit inexpensively to earlier bikes if you found them attractive. So it is good to do your homework first indeed, so that you get what you really want

 

IMHO, if the price ends up being fairly close, I'd personally opt for the '03. However, if the '01 is significantly less, and well appointed and taken care of... then the differences may not justify the price.

 

But on the other hand, with prices falling rapidly on NOS/used 03 bikes, the difference between a similarly well ketp 00, 01, 02, and 03 will become smaller over time.

 

Personally, I think the 03+ bikes are much better sorted from the factory, and do have some changes(some being improvements) over 2001 and earlier bikes.

 

The only real advantage, other than entry price and aesthetics(colors), that an 00-01 bike may over the 03 have is the shorter frame which does make it a "quicker steering" bike as stock. This issue is a matter of personal preference, quicker steering versus "rides on rails" stability, but the 02+ bikes with the longer frames can be made to steer nearly as quick with the right choice of tires, and suspension tweaking.

 

One word of warning though, many of the '03 V11 Nakeds I have ever seen are really '02 spec bikes, sold as '03s... but don't have the '03 "improvements". You will want to check into that with regard to the '03 Naked you are considering, if the 03 changes are what drive you to buy that bike.

 

See my comments on this subject in this recent thread:

 

http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=4918

 

 

MG sorta pulled a "fast one" in my humble opinion with the V11 Naked in early to mid 2003 ... in North America anyway dry.gif

 

I guess MG had a bunch of 2002 V11 Nakeds left over in parts knownothing.gif

 

They marketed all the great new features of the 2003 bikes, of which several new owners of the '03 V11 Naked here thought they received(which we have discussed here a couple times).... but in the end did not. The only bike that received these updates right away was the LeMans apparently.

 

Fortunately for these 2003 2002-spec Naked owners, the 2003 improvements, while desireable, didn't represent enough of a major change that left the owners wanting enough to care about taking it up with MG(as if that would have gone anywhere anyway whistle.gif ) ...at least the owners that have chatted about it here.

 

 

What you have is essentially still a 2002 spec bike. There's a thread or two on this somewhere, but basically in 2003 MG revised the V11 Sport/LeMans, changing to:

 

- 2003 has a new tank,with internal fuel-pump, filter, regulator, slightly larger capacity. The new tank is immediately recognizeable because it doesn't have the "chin pad" nor the petcock under the left side, or the external fuel-regulator/return under the right. The new tank seems to eliminated the dreaded tank-suck and vapor-lock issues of the earlier bikes.

 

- 2003 has black ITT gauges that replaced the problematic white Veglias

 

- 2003 has smooth "satin" engine, transmission, and bevel paint to replace the faulty "fuzzy" textured engine paint of the 2002(and 2001 Rosso Mandello) series.

 

- 2003 has larger(43mm??) front forks with adjustable preload and either compression or rebound, I forget which, but not both. But the adjustments are available in both legs. The 2002 and earlier forks were 40mm if I recall, and only had compression and rebound(in each leg exclusively) and no preload. The 2002 and earlier forks are immediately recognizeable by their big Tonka Toy caps, and the giant "C" and "R" printed on them. The 2003 has more contemporary caps, with a blue nut/cap for adjustment.

 

- 2003 has a new front mini-crossover in front of the alternator connecting the headers. This along with the increased CR, was supposed to boost low/mid range torque.

 

- 2003 marketed(but never verified AFAIK) slightly higher compression

 

- 2003 has oil jet cooling of the underside of the piston crown

 

 

.... and of course, as you have noticed, the 2002 spec and earlier bikes have the speedo gear drive.

 

 

I'm sure there are other differences that were introduced in 2003, but those are the major ones I can recall off-hand.

 

 

 

So briefly, in your case, if the '03 V11 Naked you are looking at has the white gauges, a "tank chin pad", and "fuzzy" textured black engine paint... I'd lean toward the '01, as the only thing you are getting with the '02 spec bike is a slightly longer frame, that's it... and the defective fuzzy black drivetrain(Do a search on "fuzzy", "bubbling", or "paint" to check into the recall issue).

 

 

You also may want to do a "search" for "03", "2003", "differences", etc... and you'll find many threads of this type where folks have asked about the differences between the model years.

 

In the end, I think any of the years will be satisfying, so you really can't "go wrong", but it doesn't hurt to try to find the model that you'd be satisfied with the most long-term.

 

 

...and of course, if money isn't an object... short of changing out the frame, there isn't any feature of any of the model years that you can't change or retrofit/adapt if you really want to. And that's the beauty of bikes like these, that they really are only a "base" as delivered from the factory, for you to build upon and make your own bike.

 

Good luck!

 

al

[O2 V11]

Dan, go with your heart. Be it a used '01 or a new '03 whatever you buy you won't be disappointed. Any MG has a few quirks and foibles, anyone here will vouch for that. There is something special about owning a new bike, but at the same time the run in period is a lot higher, up to 10,000 miles some have said. Mine has 2,500 on the clock and is still getting smoother. Buying a used bike would be a plus as it would be at it's best when you take delivery. There is one on Ebay now for example, a 2001 V11 Sport with all the mods you would ever need and it's green for only $4500 which is past it's reserve. Moto Guzzi's are very unique, capable bikes with character that sets them apart from the rest. Being so user friendly for servicing is another big plus, good luck with your subsequent decision making and purchase.

Rob

[callison]

Buy them both

[dlaing]

Or support our forum sponsors...

http://www.motointernational.com/MI10-04.htm

and get the 03 for cheaper than the used 01.

But you would have to, heaven forbid, take a week or two off work to ride it back from Seattle.

Oh yah, my

I am happy with my 2000, but appreciate the later bikes with more rigid frame, improved relay wiring, and more midrange because of exhaust balance pipe and increased compression.

[jrt]

Hey Dan,

if you can make it, drive down to the Illinois Moto Guzzi rally in Oquawka IL at the end of may. Guaranteed to be at least one '01 spec V11 there to check out. Usually lots of other cool bikes as well.

Jason

 

MAY 20, 21, 22

 

20th ILLINOIS MOTO GUZZI RIDERS RALLY

Location: Nine miles north of Oquawka, Illinois on the west side of the “Great River Road” at “Big River Forest”. Contact: Stan Overstreet, 309-867-6705. More Information will follow.

[al_roethlisberger]

I am happy with my 2000, but appreciate the later bikes with more rigid frame....

 

48631[/snapback]

 

 

That's true, I forgot that as of '02, MG added additional frame bracing in the front engine cradle, behind the transmission, and two braces along the side of the transmission.

 

al

[Alex-Corsa]

This is just off the top of my head- others will have lots more to say. 

Just a thought- ride both.  Buy the one that really pulls at your heart, and you'll be happy.

 

Good luck,

Jason

 

Also the o1 has a 5speed gear box and the 03 a 6er , right?

[jrt]

Uh, no. Same 6 speed gearbox. The earlier Sports (1100 sport, carbsport, 1100ie, etc. ) had 5 speed boxes, as do the Ghezzi-Brian offerings.

 

the '01 has a better speedometer cable.

[Dan M]

Great info guys, thanks. I'm leaning toward the '01. I've seen it and it is well kept. I'm going next weekend to view the '03 close up, and see what else is out there. I'll sniff around a bit before I buy and probably bother you all with more questions.

 

Thanks again,

Dan